Kaimermadon
by St. Shade
Summary: In an attempt to destroy Mistral, a human/Grimm hybrid based on the late and great Pyrrha Nikos was created soon after her passing. It's purpose was to strike even greater despair into those who admired the deceased spearmaiden, as well as overpower and annihilate any and all Huntsman in its path. This is the story of that plan flying off the rails and into the unknown...
1. Prolouge

_Chimera (n.)_

 _\- (in Greek mythology) a fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail._

 _\- a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve._

 _Myrmidon (n.)_

 _\- a member of a warlike Thessalian people led by Achilles at the siege of Troy._

 _\- a hired ruffian or unscrupulous subordinate._

It was a wonderful morning in Mistral City; the skies were nice and clear, the winds blew fair and cool, and the tardiest, most beautiful flowers were now in bloom. It was a very welcome respite to the chaotic months that had preceded it. What started as an exciting Vytal Festival ended when a promising young Huntress was hacked to pieces live on television. Then the Grimm invaded Mistral, devastating large swaths of the kingdom. More months of dread followed, which was oddly punctuated by one of the nearby valleys singing M-pop. Then Haven Academy had nearly been blown to bits by the White Fang. And to top things off, a massive incident in lower levels had occurred not too long after...

"Qrow, are you sure this is the place?" Oscar asked Qrow. The two of them, as well as Ruby, were standing on one of the higher levels of the city. In front of them was a white house a little larger compared to its neighbors. Oscar had been carrying a large amount of snacks, and while it didn't compare much to farmwork, he really would've appreciated setting it down sometime this year.

"Should be, unless these kids are lying." Qrow squinted at the piece of paper in his hand. The location written on it was perfectly legible enough not to cause any confusion. "Ruby?" He nodded his head to the door.

Ruby nodded, walking towards the front entrance. She rang the doorbell. "Hello? Anyone home?" After a few moments of silence, she heard footsteps from inside the house. A few more moments later, the door finally opened, revealing a… large figure leaning in the frame.

Despite the fact that he looked comfortable in the drab utility clothes he was wearing, his skin showed a fair bit of tan. An equally drab baseball cap sat over short brown hair, eyes red as blood glowing underneath it. Any intimidating airs, however, were mitigated by the fact his cheeks were puffed up at the moment.

"Um, Ruby?" The boy pouted in a voice rather deep for his age. "These aren't the terms we agreed to. I said you could bring a friend, not Ozpin."

"I know, Copper." Ruby responded. "So I... brought Oscar instead!"

"Doesn't he still count as Ozpin?" Copper retorted. "Tiffany told me what happened the other day." There was a temporary green flash of light, signifying that Ozpin had taken over.

Oscar's head peeked from behind the food."My apologies, Mr. Xanthias, but after the events of last week, I absolutely insisted on coming here. If it's any consolation, I've explicitly forbidden everyone else from visiting."

Copper paused for a moment. "Fine. Then how come Ruby's dad is here?" He cocked his head towards Qrow, who sighed.

"Look, I'm just her uncle, not her dad. Two, I'm just supposed to drop these two off. They're not that familiar with these parts."

Copper nodded slowly, his cheeks deflating to normal. He scanned the area again to triple-check no one followed them on the way here.

"Alright then, come inside. It's pretty nippy today."

Once Ruby and Oscar were inside, Copper whispered the former a question. "Are you sure he's not your dad? "

"Well, I'm pretty sure."Ruby shrugged. "And even if he is, it doesn't really matter that much." The scarlet reaper took a minute to admire the living room. For the most part, it was traditionally Mistralian: tatami floors, dark green walls, a skylight to balance out the color, and a few plants that were artfully cultivated. The only exception to this was the modern furniture and open floor plans. "This is actually a pretty nice place you've got here!"

"Actually, this is Keiko's house." Copper pointed to the glass table in the center of the room, where a petite-ish girl with fair skin and jet black pigtails sat on a couch cross-legged. She was playing cards with a lanky fellow wearing purple dress clothes, gray suspenders, black pants and a pair of thick aviator goggles on his ginger hair.

"Keiko? Raul? Company's here." Copper announced, causing the girl to stand up from the game. The other player was a little bit slower to rise, much to Copper's suspicion.

"Oh! Good morning!" Keiko spoke to the guests in a soft, sweet voice. "Nice to-"

Copper interrupted her. "Raul, have you been hustling Keiko again?"

Ozpin set the snacks down on the table, and seated himself on one of the sofas in the room. Ruby tried to sit next to him when she saw that another girl had decided to take a nap on the rest of the sofa. Compared to present company, this one had a more casual sense of modesty, given she was only wearing swim shorts, a translucent white shirt, and turquoise bikini top showing underneath.

Copper peeked over the sofa. "Oh yeah. Uh, Tiffany?" He poked her on the shoulder, causing her to stir a little. A pair of green eyes managed to poke it's way through a mess of sandy blonde hair.

"Urrrhh… they almost here?" she slurred.

"They ARE here, Tiffany. Your head's next to one of them."

Tiffany yawned, craned her head, and saw an upside-down Oscar politely smile back at her. Or maybe it was Ozpin, she couldn't really tell with this joker.

"Oh. Hey." After a tremendous amount of effort, she managed to extricate herself from the sofa, and moved herself to the opposing sofa. Copper himself sat next to her, directly facing Ruby. All important parties were ready. Well, almost ready.

"Any moment now, Mr. Xanthias." Ozpin told Copper. But Copper wanted to ask one more question before he started.

"How's Victoria doing?"

"Everyone else is busy taking care of her." Ozpin replied. " You have my highest assurances she's in the best hands."

"And how are they holding up?"

Ruby answered the question this time. "Okay, considering the current situation. Well, Weiss nearly died a couple of times, and Jaune keeps getting jum-"

Ozpin interrupted her. "Which brings me back to my original question, and one you have yet to answer. How did four Huntsmen in training come across one of the most dangerous creatures ever conceived and possess the audacity to bring it here?"

Copper took it as his cue to start the narration. He took a deep breath.

"Well, sir, it started after Beacon Academy fell. Classes were canceled early, everyone got A's, and we were all more worried about our loved ones back home. A lot of us really spent the months trying to relocate everyone and kill the pursuing Grimm.

And after that was done, Tiffany got the bright idea of taking a shortcut back to Haven."

 **A/N: Good evening, fanfic land, this is St. Shade, here with a new story about science projects, spanners, and sheer audacity.**

 **If you have any requests, questions, or constructive criticisms, please leave them in the Reviews Section.**

 **In the meantime, this is St. Shade, signing off. Good Night!**


	2. Chapter 1- Byway

**A/N: Good evening, fanfic land! This is St. Shade, here with the official first chapter for Kaimermadon.**

 **RWBY is a property of Rooster Teeth, and I do not own anything other than my OC Team CTRK.**

 _Byway (n.)_

 _\- a little traveled side road_

 _\- a secondary or little known aspect or field_

Out of all four members of Team CTRK, Tiffany was the only one qualified to drive. Raul had never really needed to, Keiko didn't have to, and Copper was so used to public transit that he didn't see much point in getting a license. For the most part, this arrangement was fine, except for one small issue…

"Tiffany?.." Copper's eyes inched open. He was a little slow to realize that the van they were driving in was crossing some very unfamiliar territory. "Ugh… is this really the time to pull a shortcut?" he groaned.

Tiffany sighed, bags forming over her eyes. "Cop, you of all people should want back to- want TO GO back to Mistral City ASAP. Bleaugh. " She took another glance at the now desolate surroundings.

"And besides, I… didn't think it would be this ...empty."

Copper rubbed his eyelids and craned his head towards the back of the van. Apparently, Keiko and Raul had the same idea as he did and took a nap as well. At least it explained why nobody objected to Tiffany's little shortcut.

And then Copper realized that it had been a long time since he used the bathroom. "Tiffany?"

"What now, Cop?"

"Does this shortcut of yours happen to have rest stops?"

Thankfully for Copper, there was an open rest stop up ahead. While he was in the bathroom relieving himself, Tiffany decided it was her turn to take a nap in the van. Raul, feeling a little peckish, picked out a few more snacks from a nearby vending machine. As for Keiko…

"WHERE IS IT?!"

She was hurriedly rummaging around for her manga anthology, leaving no part of the van unscoured.

"Something wrong?" Copper walked out, freed from his burdens.

"Don't worry about it Cop," Raul sat on top of the van, eating his bag of chips. "She's just left her manga lying around somewhere."

"Oh, that! I saw one of the evacuees make off with it, and-"

Keiko stiffened up. " WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me?! " Raul licked the grit off his fingers and pulled out something to read.

"Because Raul managed to snag it in the end! I thought it he was going to give it back to you." Copper pointed to the cover of Raul's book, with the words 'Mimi's Wacky Escapade' clearly written on them. The sight of Keiko's realization on her face only made Raul snicker.

"...I'm going to strangle you." Keiko muttered underneath her breath.

But before any retribution was to be had, Raul stopped snickering, and his wolf ears popped up from under his goggles. "Did anyone else hear that?!"

-xxxxx-

"COPPER!" Keiko shouted in a tone that may have been a tad too excessive. Everyone in the room whipped their heads towards her, and she wilted a little in embarrassment. Raul, on the other hand, had a more subdued reaction. "Gee, Cop, thanks for casually mentioning that little detail." he muttered.

"Well, I didn't catch much of a humans-are-better than Faunus vibe from them," Copper replied. Then he blinked turned towards Ozpin and Ruby. "Actually-"

"We do not devote energy towards racism, Mr. Xanthias." Ozpin bluntly stated. " Can you please get back on track?"

-xxxxx-

Keiko began to ask,"Hear wha-" but she was cut short by a faint screech somewhere nearby.

"That." Raul responded. The screeching raised itself in intensity and clarity.

Copper ran to the driver's side of the van and rapped on the window. "Tiffany?"

She stirred. "Yea?"

"Get the trunk open. Something strange is coming in our direction." Tiffany's eyes snapped open, and she hurriedly complied.

Raul was the first to grab his weapon, which was a decent sized kite shield painted gray and purple, with a few choice surprises hidden underneath. Raul hooked the shield to a harness on his back. Copper grasped his weapons next. One was a bronze-colored sword mace, all five edges sharpened. The other was a shotgun with a four-barrel magazine, and modified to run on coils instead of combustions.

Then it was Keiko's turn to prep her weapons; a pair of carbines sporting decorated metal blades on the side. She loaded a pan-type drum on top of each gun, arranging them parallel to the blades. Tiffany was the last to snatch her weapon, a beat up, heavily modified machine pistol coated in light blue armor. A small cable ring was bolted underneath the stock, counterbalanced by the curved bayonet up front.

All of them readied themselves as the screeches got louder and louder. Then Raul noticed something else.

"Guys, there are people over there. Screaming. Are- are they getting mauled by that thing?!"

Whatever sense of dread they should have experienced was eradicated by concern as CTRK rushed towards the source of the sound. They didn't get far before they found signs of fighting: pieces of metal, discarded bullet cartridges, a few broken branches, and an antelope faunus with a nasty cut on his head. What really stood out to them, however, was his white, but bloodied clothing, and the cracked Grimm mask laying beside him.

Raul was the first to voice his surprise. "What- a White Fang member?"

Copper scanned the surroundings. "I don't think it's just him. Look." Another Fang was lying on the grass a few yards away from them, clutching her leg in pain. He could also sense a few more Fangs littered in the forest.

It was Tiffany's turn to voice her confusion. "Okay, so a bunch of Fangs are out here, with no humans to yell at, getting their butts mauled by... something. Great." She turned towards Copper. "We got a game plan here?"

Copper mulled it over for a moment. "Keiko, I want you to patch these guys up to the best of your ability. They may have some information they want to share. Raul, cover Keiko; if any Fang tries to strike back, fly back to the van with her. You do know where it is, right?"

"Somewhere in that direction, right?"

Copper nodded. "Tiffany, we're going to keep looking for whatever's making that sound. I should have enough range to sense it. Everyone clear?"

"Yup."

"Crystal."

"Mm-hm."

And with that, Copper and Tiffany ran off in the direction of the screeches, while Keiko and Raul stayed behind to deal with the carnage.

After a few more minutes of searching, Copper was getting more and more confused by the situation. For some reason, Atlesian Knight 130 robots were now among the list of things that had been carnaged. Didn't Fangs and AKs have bad blood between them?

He didn't have much time to think about it before he noticed something wonky with one of the signals he was getting. Copper found that most creatures possessed a consistent bioelectric field, be it human, faunus, or Grimm. But the field he was sensing now fluctuated all over the place, switching back and forth between human and Grimm.

The screeches died out. But it didn't matter to Copper anymore. He motioned for Tiffany to join her at the top of the ridge, then peeked over.

It was a complete mess on the other side. Trees had been razed, Fangs had been broken, and more than few AKs had been damaged beyond repair. The ones that were still standing had been utterly worn down by … well… whatever it was they were circling.

For starters, it's limbs were all mismatched: only two of them actually looked like something Grimmlike while the others looked like they belonged to a person. Half of its head was covered in red and gray hair, another thing making it un-Grimmlike. And it's face… well, Copper had no way of knowing what it originally looked like.

One of the Fangs left standing twitched slightly, and he put a hand towards his ear. Copper couldn't make out what he was saying, and he had a slight twinge of regret not bringing Raul along. Eventually, the motley crew of Fangs and AKs went off towards the hills, carrying the creature with them. As for Team CT, there was nothing more they could do, so they decided to regroup with RK. On the way back, Copper realized that he forgot to get a recording.

Thankfully, Tiffany smirked and waved her scroll around.

"So," Tiffany broke the ice. "Would anyone like to explain what the hell we just witnessed?"

Raul and Keiko were watching the recording with an understandable mix of horror and curiosity. But for Raul it was mostly the latter.

"We got nothing." Their efforts to comb the injured Fangs for information were fruitless. Some didn't know much, others tried to slaughter Keiko, and the rest were either tight-lipped or unable to talk if they wanted. All they got from was that they were working on a monster. In all honesty, it really didn't seem very White Fang-like of them to do.

"Okaay.." Tiffany wasn't quite sure whether to prod the situation or leave it alone. As for Copper...

"We have to go back." Copper was about to launch into a platitude of reasons why, but the others weren't in the mood to hear him out. So they all agreed to discuss it once they got back to Haven.

Once they were back on the road, Copper remembered something. "Hey, Keiko. Didn't you plan on choking out Raul before we found-"

"Hm? Oh yeah." Keiko turned her attention towards Raul, who was helpless to escape his just desserts.

Raul's eyes shrank in horror. "You- Cop! Why would you say that you f-ACCHH! AGGHH! HRRK-IIICH-khh…"

 **FIN**

 **If you have any requests, questions, or constructive criticisms, please leave them in the Reviews Section.**

 **In the meantime, this is St. Shade, signing off. Good Night!**


	3. Chapter 2- Exposure

**A/N: Good evening, fanfic land! This is St. Shade, here with the official second chapter for Kaimermadon.**

 **RWBY is a property of Rooster Teeth, and I do not own anything other than my OC Team CTRK.**

Chapter 2- Exposure

Exposure (n.) - The state of having no protection from something harmful.

\- The revelation of something secret, especially something embarrassing or damaging.

\- The action of exposing a photographic film to light.

\- The direction in which a building faces; an outlook.

Later in the afternoon, Team CTRK made it into the gates of Mistral City, only to get stuck in the massive influx of suburbanites and Valians trying to find safety. It got so bad that their usual parking space, which was just behind the elevator, had been discovered and taken. In the end, Tiffany was forced to leave the van at the mercy of an APS (Automated Parking Spaces) station embedded in the cliffs.

"I… have … your hybrid… What… do…"

For now, they had situated themselves in Keiko's house, with permission from her parents, of course. Tiffany was currently taking advantage of the hospitality by plopping her head on the plush cushions and dozing off. Copper shook his head, then went back to contemplating plans A through Q on how to investigate the new matter. Keiko was on her scroll, and Raul had been tasked with analyzing Tiffany's recording, trying to figure out what dialogue had been spoken by the leader, an albatross faunus by the looks of things.

Copper glanced over. "Raul, you almost done?"

"I think so, but… yeesh. _'I have your hybrid. They're badly injured, but we're still alive. What do you mean, "not lethal enough" ?! … Yes, but what about… I understand.'_ He says this part to the Fangs. _'Come on people, let's get this miserable thing underground before we attract attention.'_ Heh. Way too late for that, buddy."

"Hybrid…at least that explains something."

"Explains what?"

"When I scanned that thing's bioelectric field, it kept alternating between human and Grimm."

"... I see. Love you too, Mom." Keiko finally put her scroll down, frowning.

Raul looked over. "Kei? Is everything alright?"

"Mom and Dad have been summoned to the Mistral Council. They wanted to talk to them about Dust alternatives since Atlas put the embargo out. There's no telling how long they'll be back."

"Hey, that's great-OW!" Copper's moment of serendipity was cut short by a dope-slap from a reawakened Tiffany, who glared at him and pointed at Keiko, who was still frowning.

"Oh...Sorry about that." He apologized. "I just thought-"

"Look, I don't want to dwell on it," Keiko rubbed her temples. "can we just start asking why the White Fang Grimm-Human… business is now a thing?"

"I know, right?" Raul chimed in. "It's not like them. Sounded like someone else was pulling the strings." He chuckled. "Ironic, really."

"We won't know anything until we go back to that spot." Copper turned his head to Tiffany. "Where exactly was that shortcut?"

"Shiryo Hills… or a least somewhere close by." Tiffany yawned, then blinked in confusion. "Wait…"

"Already? Why don't we see if anyone's talking about it while we're here? In Mistral City?"

"Guys?"

"Kei, crazy junk like this is probably restricted to the lower levels, and I don't think they'd let a team of students get into listening range."

"Oi!"

"Okay, so we bust out Adder and-"

" **YO!** "

Tiffany decided to interject and state the simple solution. "Can't we just sic the dogs of law enforcement on these nutjobs?"

Copper, however, had a response prepped. "Tiffany, the line to the police station wraps around the building _thrice_. Even if we were able to wait, I doubt they can afford the manpower. We may not even register as important enough to indulge and-"

"Cop, we have video evidence that something really funky's going on near the hills. I'm pretty sure we can get something out of it."

"Tiffany, it's a shaky video recorded on a scroll, and you can't even hear much. We're going to need something a little more concrete."

"Can't we at least try? Because you are NOT making us go back there right now."

"Look, if we bring the cops into this, it'll just cause the Fang to scatter with whatever they're working on. "

"Aren't they going to scatter anyway? We weren't exactly in stealth mode this morning."

Copper raised his mouth in protest, but realized the logic in Tiffany's statement. "Fine."

"You don't have be so glum about it, Cop. But you're all going to the station with me. And-"

Tiffany's scroll suddenly started ringing, but the number displayed was unfamiliar to her, or them.

"Guys, you don't think… Puck listened, do you?"

-xxxxx-

"Wait a second!" Ruby exclaimed. "Who's Puck?"

"According to themselves, a hacker on the side of good." Raul said, putting the last word in air quotes. "Copper here thinks they're more on the side of amusement, but they've done pretty good work for us." He gestured over to Copper. "So, where do you want to pick up?"

"Let's pick off a couple of hours later. Just for reference, Tiffany's at the station while the rest of us are at their hideout."

-xxxxx-

"So that's what they we're hiding, the idiots." Puck remarked. The four of them sat at a mahjong table, pieces all set up for a game. Only, this particular table wasn't just meant for mahjong; it also doubled as a scroll projector, which is why Tiffany's video was hovering in the air. Leave it to them to bug a scroll.

"Wait, you spoke to them?" Keiko tilted her head to the side. It was rare for the White Fang to ask help from people like Puck.

"They wanted me to test out the security systems for a new base in Mistral." Three sets of bewildered expressions gazed back at them. "And yes, I know that's a first." Painful as it was to admit, the White Fang preferred to solve matters with guns rather than computers.

"And let me guess, you got curious and snuck around." Raul remarked.

Puck simply shrugged. "Not as much as I would have liked; I only managed to grab a few schematics and inventory lists. Anything else risked blowing my cover."

Copper stood up. "It will have to do. Do you think you could make us a few maps, master keys, that kind of stuff?"

"Sure, but only if you can do three things for me. See, Mistral City's getting a little too cramped for my taste, and I kind of need help with moving."

"Just as long as it's not bigger than a couch. What's the second?"

"I managed to find a few rooms relegated for mad science instead of terrorism. If you find anything related to that science experiment, could you take some pictures for me?" Puck held up a camera.

"This isn't a field trip, Puck!" Keiko was incredulous. "And what if it's dark in there? the pictures won't even be that good!"

"Ah, but this camera won't need flash to take good pictures." Puck handed the camera to Keiko, who simply passed it over to Raul.

"Just, _please_ tell me your last thing is simple."

"Oh, yeah! If you count a game of mahjong to be simple."

The next day, Team CTRK found themselves standing in the hangar of Mistral Police Headquarters. It turns out both Copper and Tiffany were right; the way things were now, they couldn't afford much manpower to do a full investigation. However, in light of the evidence, they at least gave them a ship and some hands to help out.

"I think that's everything." Copper announced as he finished triple-checking their inventory: Puck's hacks, binding rope, extra ammo, earpieces, granola bars, and most importantly, umbrellas. The forecast had called for thunderstorms today, and Copper was _not_ keen on getting wet.

Tiffany checked the clock. "You know, I think we have time to grab something from the vendors. I'll be right back." A few seconds after she left, the door opened again.

"Wow, that was actually-" Copper said as he looked up, only to meet face to face with sheer horror.

"No. No. No! For all that's- what are you guys doing here?!"

Apparently, the police had neglected to tell them the helping hands did not belong to trained police officers. Instead, they belonged to Sage Ayana, Scarlet David, and Neptune Vasilias.

"Junior Detectives, remember?" Neptune smiled as he flashed his badge, its gleam catching Copper in the eye.

"Oh, right. I forgot they made that a thing." He grimaced, before realizing a certain monkey faunus was absent. "Where's Sun?"

"He actually ran off on his own." Scarlet chimed in. " Something about this cat girl named Blake."

Copper groaned. "Of course." Elsewhere on the ship, Neptune had already moved in on Keiko, and the incessant amount of pickups and flirting were starting to make her uncomfortable. Raul had tried to tear them away once or twice, but Scarlet kept pulling him away for some inexplicable reason. Fortunately for Keiko, someone else managed to come to her rescue.

"Hey, Neptune!" The blue haired teen winced as Tiffany popped up behind him, spoils and all, wearing a massive grin on her face.

"Uh… hey!" Neptune strained, starting to sweat in terror. He was always like that around Tiffany ever since she tricked him into a midnight boat ride. "I'll uh, just- just-" Words failed him as he ran to the other side of the ship.

"Oh, come on, what's with the sour expression?" Sage thumped Copper in the back, but the latter was still. "Seriously, did we do something wrong?" The others also turned their attention towards him.

All they could get out of Copper was some muttering about how the plan was screwed already.

A couple of hours later, the airship had landed at Shiryo Hills, and all seven were on the hunt. Copper had finally relented on letting SSN in on the plan, if only because his teammates kept badgering him about it. For their part, the junior detectives had agreed to be quiet, and that they wouldn't act without his say so.

"You still don't trust us, do you?" Neptune asked Copper as he loaded his weapon, a silver high-end railgun that was much more compact compared to Copper's coilgun.

Copper froze as he slung Coulomb and Vise onto his shoulders. "What?"

"You still don't trust us. Isn't that why you guys always run off without ever telling anyone?"

Copper's pace quickened, only for Neptune to follow him closely. "Well, we… we didn't think we should worry anyone else."

"You didn't want us to worry?! Do you know how many people freaked out the last time?" But before Neptune could go any further, Copper's earpiece buzzed.

"Did you guys find it?" Keiko's voice crackled over the static.

"I'm not the one with the map, Keiko." Raul coughed for emphasis.

"Found it." Tiffany replied. "But why did Puck leave this stuff on _my_ scroll?"

The White Fang's new "base" had been yet another hidden village, this time in the hills. Like so many, it was most likely created in an attempt to break away from the kingdom, only to be cut down by the Grimm.

The group of seven took care to disable the Fang's security system, which was rather easy with Puck's tools and Raul's shield. After that, they were able to sneak past most of the White Fang guards and AK-130's. But then, they ran into a rather pungent-smelling room.

Scarlet was the first to speak, or at least, whisper."Anyone smell that? It's actually kind of nice."

Keiko was less enamored with the smell compared to Scarlet. "Gasoline. the whole room's rigged to burn. Is it …?"

Tiffany checked her scroll. "Yep, definitely a mad science room." Raul readied the camera.

Copper figured it was a good time to bust his semblance out. There were at least five signatures on the other side of the wall. Four of them were definitely faunus, but the other…

"We've got a box-shaped Geist in the room." Copper looked back towards the others, making a few gestures with his head. Raul and Sage moved to the front of the door, while Keiko, Scarlet, and Neptune stood next to it. Tiffany and Copper moved to the other side of the wall, with the former activating her semblance.

"Everyone ready?" Copper asked, getting six nods in response. He took a deep breath,put his hand out, and started counting down. "Five, four, three, two, one."

The door opened, allowing Sage and Raul to walk in and make some small talk. The Fangs, who were caught off guard, panicked and tried to sound an alarm. It didn't work, thanks to Puck's hacks, so they tried lighting the fire, hoping to garner some attention. To their surprise, the lighters and guns failed to work, and they were easily incapacitated by the two.

And yet, the Geist still refused to move. Copper began to worry a little as Raul and Sage came back out. Did it manage to sense them? Was it waiting for everyone else to move in and then go for the kill?

"Something's off here. Tiffany, you sure this is the only way?" Tiffany shook her head.

"What's the matter?" Sage inquired.

"I think the Geist can sense us; it's just waiting to grab all of us."

"So, maybe we just go in one at a time?"

"That just runs the risk of us getting picked off. Unless-"

"We use the Fisher strategy, right?" Raul motioned for Tiffany's scroll. "Either way, I think the Grimm's about ready to rampage." He pointed to the shaking box, as well as quivering, tied up Fangs in the corner.

"You sure?" Copper was a little uneasy about already dropping the stealth streak.

"Just get ready to shoot, Ok?" Before Copper could protest, Raul flew into the room, attached a rope to the Fangs, and went to open the door. The box shook violently, causing Copper to fumble on the trigger. Instead, Neptune took over, managing to get a few hits in before the Geist grew into it's true form. It bought enough time for Raul to fly away with prisoners in tow, and the Geist, drawn in by the fear, gave chase.

"Neptune!" Copper shouted. "Go after him!" The sudden order caused Neptune to freeze for a second, but he complied.

"What just happened?" Scarlet asked as he watched Neptune run towards the Geist's direction.

"Someone has to make sure the bait doesn't get snapped up in the process." Copper responded bitterly. "And besides, all the attention is going to be on them instead of us."

Urgh. Why couldn't any of his plans go off quietly?!

 **FIN**

 **If you have any requests, questions, or constructive criticisms, please leave them in the Reviews Section.**

 **In the meantime, this is St. Shade, signing off. Good Night!**


	4. Chapter 3 - Waylay

**A/N: Good evening, fanfic land! This is St. Shade, here with the official third chapter for Kaimermadon.**

 **RWBY is a property of Rooster Teeth, and I do not own anything other than my OC Team CTRK.**

Waylay (v.) - to wait for and then stop someone, especially either to attack or talk to that person.

"So, do all of your plans always end up like this?" Sage quipped.

"Mostly. Look, I am trying, okay?" Copper hissed under his breath. He still wasn't as good of a planner compared to Jaser.

"Hey, buck up, Cop." Tiffany patted him on the shoulder. "At least they don't know most of us are here."

"Not for long, I'm afraid. Now that they know two intruders are here, they'll probably think there are more, as well."

"You did come up with a way to counter this though, right?"

"Only one that I don't like. Sage, you're stronger compared to Scarlet, right?" Scarlet looked like a kicked puppy when his teammate nodded. Both Sage and Copper shrugged in apology.

"Maybe I should've phrased that better. Scarlet and Keiko, you guys are going to keep poking around. The rest of us will shadow Raul and Neptune."

"Wait." Keiko needed to ask something before they could get started. "Can someone help load the map and inventories onto my scroll?"

The Geist's corpse lay strewn on the cavern floor, littered with bullet holes. Examining the wreckage was swarm of Fangs, all armed to the teeth. Some of them were busy trying to bring their bound siblings, who were all asleep for some reason, back from slumberland. Not that the AK-130's supervising them cared of course.

Raul and Neptune were nowhere to be found, which worried Copper, Sage, and Tiffany, who were hiding nearby. That is until a hand tapped Copper's shoulder, causing him to use his semblance, turn around, and see them, unscathed and smiling.

"Did they spot you?" Raul and Neptune shook their heads. At least that was one thing they weren't going to have to deal with. If their numbers were still unknown…

"We'll have to keep sneaking around for now."

"Why?" Neptune inquired. "I think they already know we're here!"

Copper shook his head."Not exactly; all they really know is that an X amount of people are sneaking around. And since the security system's down, they're going to put a lot of manpower into hunting them. Let's give them something to hunt. Plus, Keiko and Scarlet should be relatively safe if we can lead these guys away from them."

"And how exactly are we going to play go-hide-and-seek with a thousand faunus, crawl through the vents?"

"We're too big to fit through any. Besides, I this place is big enough for what I have in mind." Copper pressed on his earpiece. "Guys? We're going to go with Plan E2."

"You sure this is going to work?" Sage asked nervously. He and Copper were sitting on the village's water tower, which the White Fang had reactivated for their own usage. It had the perfect view of a small hut dedicated to Grimm Hybrid experiments, where Tiffany had hidden herself for the time being. Raul and Neptune, of course, had elected to take pictures of other mad science areas before scampering off, just to give the Fangs a scent to follow.

"This one should. It's the stealth plans that tend to go haywire." Copper took a look at how far they were off the ground. "Do you need any help going down?" Sage didn't verbally answer, but way he casually jumped off and landed safely was a definite "No."

"AK-130's should still use traditional ammo, right?" Tiffany's voice crackled through Copper's earpiece.

"Do they look any different from the ones we saw yesterday? " Keiko answered. "Cause those definitely use gas-operated weapons."

"I'll take it as a yes. Keiko, is there anyone in your guy's area?"

"We're in some sort of underground loading bay right now. There's about a handful of Knights and Fangs left, but they haven't moved."

Copper cycled through Coulomb's ammo cylinders, and picked the one labeled heavy slugs. Vise's handle unhinged from the rest of the weapon, allowing it to attach to the barrel easily. Once he pulled the handle's trigger, there was an initial surge of visible electricity as all five blades split outward, creating a gap large enough for a slug to pass through.

"Looks like we're good, then. Neptune, Raul, whenever you're ready." A few seconds later, sounds of gunfire erupted in the distance, signaling the beginning of their plan.

Copper got worried when only Neptune ran into the hut, with Raul nowhere to be found. The Fangs and Knights chasing him quickly surrounded it, but to their surprise, their guns had failed to work. Copper fired, and the slug that few out was so powerful it tore through a good chunk of the Fang. Predictably, they all ran for cover after the first shot, and Copper wasn't able to use the next two rounds as efficiently. But it was enough to draw them towards their location.

"Now, Sage!" Copper shouted, determining that the distance between them and the enemy was far enough.

Sage slashed at the pipe, causing a high-pressure jet of water to spray from the cut and pulverize several Fangs. Copper quickly followed up with a volley of Ice Dust rounds, forming a myriad amount of ice spikes as well as a slippery floor, preventing the rest from moving AK-130s weren't as easily deterred however, and moved in for close range combat. Sage's broadsword skills made quick mincemeat of them.

Now that the primary forces were out of the way, that left the stragglers and more advanced enemies such as fliers. A quick scan by Copper gave him more specific numbers and locations; aside from the ones near Sage, there were 2 in the air, and one who had already reached the top. Copper wasn't particularly perturbed by this, and simply switched to spread-shot rounds while the Fang pounced at him. Then, in one smooth motion, he yanked off Vise to form an improv tonfa, pointed Coulomb directly behind him, and fired.

Disappointingly enough, the shot missed by a hair, but the element of surprise was enough to throw the Fang off-balance. Copper elbowed his opponent with his tonfa arm, forcing the latter to back up in pain, whilst allowing the former time to analyze his opponent. He was surprised to see that it was the Albatross faunus, and even more so that he only carried an electric spear. Why on Remnant did this guy not carry a gun?

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" The White Fang lieutenant lowered his spear for a moment.

Copper was confused by the Albatross' words. "Have we met before?"

Rather than answer him, the Albatross simply charged a him with a cry that sounded rather desperate. Copper fired a few more rounds of spray, breaking the charge and forcing him on the defense. Then the two flying faunus, a female dragonfly and a male bat, popped up right behind him, guns pointed at his back.

But out of the blue, a purplish gray blur slammed into the bat faunus, nailing the Albatross in the stomach and incapacitating the two. The dragonfly attempted to retreat, only for a freak gust of wind to push her back into range. Copper cracked her on the head with Vise, knocking her out her out cold.

"I appreciate the save Raul, but what are you doing here?!"

Raul twirled a spray can absentmindedly. " After I put the guys chasing me to sleep, I had nothing better to do."

Copper eyed the can with suspicion. "And where did you get that?"

"Keiko's workspace."

"YOU had it?!" Both of them winced as Keiko shrieked on the earpiece. "You could've killed someone with that batch! Did you even read the instructions?!"

"Yeah, but they're pretty bad." Even though his ears hurt, Raul was still grinning. "I only needed one spray to KO them, not two."

"Still could've killed them if it was that potent!"

"Kei, why'd you even have knockout gas lying around in the first place?" Tiffany cut in.

"I didn't! Raul-"

"Okay, enough!" Copper shouted to regain order on the comms. "Keiko, you can strangle Raul later, but first, he and I are going to have words. Tiffany, are you at the door?"

"Neptune and I have been at the door ever since Keiko screeched like a parrot. Just hoping the rest of you guys come before I take a nap." Tiffany's exaggerated yawning came through a second later.

"I get it, I get it," Copper rubbed his brow. "We're coming." The last Fang had finally made his way onto the roof, only to get shot by a recombined Coulomb Vise. Sage had also managed to clean up downstairs, so for now they were in the clear. Which meant a small window of time for them to get down, reload their weapons, and regroup with the others. Sadly, it was too small for Copper to grill Raul.

"Anything happen on your guys end?" he asked the girls.

"Just picking off the ones in the loading bay, why?"

"I tell you once this is over with. How many bad guys left?"

"Well, the inventory list here says 90 White Fang members, 40 AK-130's, and 2 Paladins. We only got about 25 Fangs and 10 bots, did you guys run into-"

"We only took out 40 Fangs and 20 bots." Copper's voice tinged in worry. "We didn't find any Paladins..."

All three of them found it best to pick up the pace towards their compatriots.

"So let me get this straight." Sage started. "You didn't even plan an escape route?!"

All seven of them were busy reloading their weapons and contemplating their next move within the underground loading bay. It was complemented by the large lift system nearby, originally created so that airships could come land and deliver necessary cargo, as underground resources were few and far between. In the present, however, it was used to house some of the White Fang's bullheads and cargo vessels. Every door had been blocked with whatever crates and detritus they could find, but it was a holding measure at best.

Copper was the first to finish restocking his weapon. "Of course I did, Sage; the plan was to loop back to the airship we came in, and there were multiple routes we could've used. But the average Paladin packs enough weaponry to blast us out of the sky, even if we were airborne."

"Then that just means we stand and fight, right?" Neptune was the second person to finish loading his weapon, casually turning it into a trident in a show of power.

"Neptune, you of all people should know how tough a Paladin is. Didn't you and Sun get your rears handed to you by an _unfinished one_?"

"Hey, now, I wouldn't say-"

Tiffany's scroll suddenly rang, and in spite of the situation they were in, somehow she had the gall to answer. "Hello?... ! How'd you even know- You sure?" She handed her scroll over to Keiko. "It's for you."

Keiko's expression was of pure focus as she listened to whatever instructions Puck was giving her. Then she nodded and turned to Copper.

"Can you hand me the devices Puck gave you?" Copper hurriedly compiled. Team SSN, meanwhile, started to look a little apprehensive of the situation.

"Mr. Xanthias, I would appreciate it if you could clarify something." Oscar raised a hand, causing Copper to pause for a moment. "What exactly is the nature of the relationship between Puck and SSN at this point in your story?"

"Well, it's always been bit fritzy between those two. On one hand, SSSN think he's just a charismatic but glorified criminal. On the other hand, Puck tends to treat them as pieces who do the dirty work for him."

"Honestly, it's the same story between Puck and any team of Huntsmen from Haven," Keiko added, "It's just less extreme with us because, and I'm paraphrasing here, they find us genuinely fun to work alongside with."

"Anyways, back to the story." Copper reasserted. "Thanks to us, Puck had time to gather more information on what the White Fang had- as well as how to use it."

" I can't believe we're actually going through with this," Scarlet muttered as he joined Sage and Neptune in one of the cargo ships. The central idea of this plan was that both the cargo ships and Paladins (which had been redesigned to serve as aerial escorts) were now automated. They were to follow a secret flight path all the way to Atlas, and since human pilots weren't needed, there was no risk running into the Grimm.

Now that the cargo ships had gone through quite the tinkering (with a little help from Keiko), Puck had control instead. Initially, they had planned for SSN's ship to be the bait so that CTRK's could get away, only for Copper to intervene and convince them otherwise. But since they would all be at the mercy of a skilled and whimsical hacker, there was doubt that the convincing would last. Copper himself felt like he needed extra insurance before boarding CTRK's ride. Maybe he could suggest scrambling the teams so that-

A large blast coming from the doors suggested that it was too late, as Fangs, Knights, and Paladins alike started pouring in. Copper made it inside just in time for the cargo ship's doors to close, protecting him and his team from the gunfire.

The White Fang always was big on keeping their goods safe.

 **FIN**

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 **In the meantime, this is St. Shade, signing off. Good Night!**


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